Intermittent film feed and shutter mechanism



1, 3 0. w. GITHENS ET AL 2,167,713

INTERMLTTENT FILM FEED AND sauwma'mscmmsu Km 4 v mwam Y O E TIE N|l||||| R E .ET 0 VWGT N E 1 TOE 7 V 0 4;. 2 5 2 a Filed Jan. 21., 1937Patented Aug. 1, 1939 INTERMITTENT Otto w. Githens and George liende,New York,

' PATENT OFFICE FILM FEED AND SHUTTER cmmsM and Everett M. Porter,Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Universal CameraCorporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationJanuary 21, 1937, Serial No. 121,488

9 Claims.

v This invention relates to motion picture apps..- ratus. Moreparticularly, it relates to intermittent film moving, and shutteractuating mechanisms.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide a highly improvedcamera mechanism construction of the character described inwhich thetiming relationship between the intermittent film moving mechanism andthe shutter operating mechanism will always be constant.

Another object of our invention is to provide a camera mechanismconstruction of the character described which shall comprise relativelyfew and simple parts, which shall be relatively inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to assemble, which shall be sturdy and compact and atthe same time operate with a high degree of efiiciency.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and inputhereinafter pointed out,

The invention accordingly, consists in the features of construction,combinations of: elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplifled in the construction, hereinafter described, and of which thescope of.- application. .will be indicated in the following claims 1Certain features described butnot claimed in this application aredescribed and claimed ina co-pending application, SerialNo. 70,188,-flled March 23, 1936 for Motion-picture apparatus.

In the accompanying drawing,. i n which is shown one of the variouspossible embodiments of this invention, 1 a

Fig. l'is a plan view, partly sectional, of a portion. of a motionpicture camera embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional viewtaken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig.3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig; 4 is an enlarged section taken substantiallyon the line H of Hg. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 ofFig. 3;v

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 ofFig. 1; and

Fig. '1 is s diagrammatic view-of reduced slae illustrating the path oftravel of the fllinin relationtothefllmguide.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, there is disclosed a portion ofthe apparatus. a motion picture camera invention whichmay be constructedas an integral unit ll, so that it can be, easily and quickly assembledoutside of the camera casing andtothecameracasinginitsproperpositim.'lhe

substantially said unit i0 may include intermittent film advancingmechanism, shutter mechanism, lens mounting, film gate, aperture plateand film pressure pad.

The intermittent fllm advancing mechanism may be constructed asdescribed in our co-pending application Serial No. 70,188, filed March23, 1936, for Motion picture apparatus, which comprises ,a fiat shuttlemember ,il provided with a central aperture I2, and a pair of alignedslotted apertures l3 and it. The shuttle H is designed to reciprocate ina straight line by having a pair of shaft members ll provided at theirlower ends with a screw threaded portion of reduced diameter which isthreaded into the wall ii of the iframe comprising said unitaryconstruction. It is noted that the wall it is parallel to the shuttleII. The upper end of the shafts l5 pass through the slots l3 and I4 andare provided with enlarged heads ll to prevent the said upper shaft endsfrom moving out of the slots l3 and I4. Spacer members ll surroundingthe shafts II are provided between the shuttle II and a second shuttleIt soon to be described in greater detail, said shuttle I being in turnspaced from the wall I! by bosses I! to maintain the shuttles Ii and iiat a constant distance from the said wall ll at all times. To cause theshuttle i I to reciprocate, there is provided a cam 20 mounted on thesquared portion 2| of the shaft 22. The cam 2| is designed to operate inthe aperture i2 in such a manner that upon rotation of the shaft 22, theshuttle II will be caused to reciprocate in a straight line path. Theshaft 22 is provided with a pinion 23 which is adapted to cooperate witha suitable spring motor driving mechanism not shown in the drawing, butwhich may be of the type fully described in our co-pending application.

Serial No. 135,410, filed April 7, 1937, for Motion.

move or advance the film a predetermined db- 7 tnnbaandontheupwardstrokeofsaidshnttle 1 ll-tobeeome saidperforatlon and to ride upwardlyon the back of the portion of the film between perforations until itwill become engaged in another perforation so that it may be inreadiness to again advance the film on the next downward stroke of theshuttle II. To more effectively accomplish this function of the tooth25a, we have provided the following construction: A spring, such as forexample the coil spring 28 which is preferably of light construction, isprovided to normally urge the tooth 25a toward the film F so that it mayreadily engage in the perforations P. One end of the spring 26 is fixedto the shuttle I l by any suitable attaching means such as an end loopthereof engaging a hook member 21', which may be integral with and atright angles to the fiat side of the shuttle II, while a loop at theother end of saidspring 21 is engaged in an aperture 28 in the film dog25, disposed to the right of the pivot 24. It is noted that the endloops of the spring 21 are at right angles to each other. It is thusseen that the spring 26 will urge the film dog 25 to rotate in aclockwise direction to cause the tooth 25a to move toward the film.

-By reason of the use of a light spring 26, the tooth 25a will notstrike too severe a blow to the upper edge of the perforation P upon1eaving said perforation, and will not bear too heavily against the backsurface of the film during the upward stroke of the shuttle H. In Viewof the use of the light spring 26, it is desirable to provide someadditional means to limit the rotation of the dog 25 during the downwardstroke of the shuttle, so that the tooth 25a may have a firm grip in theperforation P. We have provided, therefore, an abutment member 29 on theshuttle H disposed in the path of an extended arm 25b of the dog 25, sothat during the downward stroke of the shuttle H, the arm 25b-wil1 abutthe member 29, to maintain the dog 25 rigid while it advances the film.0n the upward stroke of the shuttle II, the arm 25b will be free to moveaway from the abutment 28 against the actionof the light spring 26. Thesaid abutment 29 may comprise a struck-up portion of the shuttle H.

In motion picture cameras of the type herein described, it is of extremeimportance that the movement or advancement of the'film be at all timesin proper synchronization with the uncovering and covering of the filmaperture by the shutter. By our invention, therefore, we have providedan improved construction by means of which the film advancing mechanismand the shutter operating mechanism-are driven from the same shaft sothat, once properly adchronism.

The shutter 3| is designed to intermittently cover the film aperture 32disposed inthe wall 33 whichis integral with and at right angles to thewall 16. As shown in the drawing, the shutter 3| may be integral withthe shuttle 50 and .be attached to the shuttle 50 for reciprocationtherewith by any other desired known means of attachment. -The shutter3| is adapted to be -reciprocated in a straight line path by means ofthe shuttle 50, which is similar in construction to the shuttle ll.

A cam 34 is mounted on the squared shaft portion 2| properly spaced fromthe cam 20 by a justed, they will always maintain proper synof the filmdog 25.

spacer 35, and is adapted to operate in an opening 36 and to be guidedin straight line reciprocation by a pair of aligned slots 31 and 38,similar to the slots I 3 and I4. Passing through the slots 31 and 3B arethe shafts l5. The shuttles H and 50 are held against displacement bythe spacer members l8 and the bosses 19, as hereinbefore described. Itis thus seen from the foregoing description that when the shaft 22 isrotated, the cams 20 and 34 will cause the shuttles II and 50 toreciprocate in a straight line path in synchronism, to cause the filmdog 25 to intermittently advance the film, and the shutter, to cover anduncover the film aperture 32 in properly timed relationship. Because ofthe fact that both the film feeding device and the shutter are drivenfrom the same shaft, there will be no possibility of lost motion todestroy the proper timing relationship between said film feed and saidshutter, which will therefore always remain constant.

In addition to the above described novel assembly of our film feedingand shutter mechanism on a unitary support Hi, we have also provided afilm passageway and gate construction carried by the same assembly whichwill now be described.

The wall 33 in which is disposed the film aperture 32 is provided with arecessed area 3311 as clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6. Into this area33a there is disposed the film gate 40. To form a film passagewaybetween the inner surface of the film gate 40 and the recess 33a, thesaid film gate is held spaced from the recess by means of a slightlyraised portion 33d adjacent to and above the recessed area 33a, and intowhich there is received an extended portion 40a of the film' gate. (SeeFigs. 4 and 6.) The above described construction is so designed thatwhen the film gate portion 40a contacts the recess 33d, the film gate 40will be spaced from the recess 33a a distance suificient to provide a.passageway for the film F, such distance being approximately one tenthof an inch.

The film gate 40 is hingedly mounted on a shaft 44 (see Fig. 4), whichin turn is freely disposed in the recessed bearing grooves 46 disposedon the underside of the wall 43. The film gate 40 may be held in normaleffective position by a coil spring 41, having one extended end 41athereof pressing against the wall 43 (see Fig. 3) and the other extendedend 41b thereof being disposed at right angles to the end "a and adaptedto press against the back of the film gate 40, to maintain the extendedportion Illa in contact with the recess 33d. It is noted that the wall43 is integral with the wall 33 and also parallel to and integral withthe wall I6.

To facilitate the opening of the film gate 40 against the action of thespring 41, there is provided a tab extension 48, as shown in Figs. 4 and6. The wall 33 is provided with a slotted aperture 5|, through which thetooth portion 25a of they film dog 25 is adapted to project, in order toengage the perforations P in the film F.

To insure that the point of the tooth 2511 will always firmly grip thebottom edge of the perforation P when traveling in a downward directionto advance the film, the film gate 40 is provided with a'recessed area52 (see Fig. 1) of sumcient length to accommodate the stroke It is thusseen that the tip of the-film dog tooth 25a will project through andslightly. beyond the perforation P in the film to insure a firm grip.The said recessed area I! may be formed by pressing out a portion of thematerial of the film gate 4. from the inside surface thereof.

Another novel feature of our unitary assembly lies in the incorporationinto the single piece die cast frame, comprising the walls it, 43 and33, oi integral means for mounting, the lens, including a lens seat. Asshown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, there is provided integral with-and at right angles to the wall 33, a wall 53 and an integral wallIlextending downwardly from the wall 53 and parallel to and spaced fromthe wall 33. The wall I4 is provided with an aperture 55 in alignmentwith the film aperture 32. Into the aperture 58 there is received abushing member 58 provided with an internal threaded aperture 51 inalignment with the film aperture 32. The bushing it is provided withexternally screw threaded portion 80 adapted to have screwed thereto alens L of standard construction. The outer surface a of the wall 54 isfinished of! accurately to serve as a seat for the lens. It is thus seenfrom. the above described relatively simple construction that thedistance from the lens seat a to the film surface will always remainconstant and, therefore, errors of alignment and focus due to movementof the parts will be prevented.

To insure the proper positioningof the film F as it passes the filmaperture 32, and to prevent movement of the film F during the upwardstroke of film dog 25, we have provided an improved pressure padconstruction mounted on the film gate ll, shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, andwhich will now be described. The film gate ll is provided with a throughopening it, which may be rectangular as shown, or which may be of anyother desired shape. Into the opening ll 'there is placed acorrespondingly shaped press pad 6i, having a smooth surface "a which isadapted to contact the film I". The pad I is provided with flanged wallsSlb, which are of greater height than the thickness of the wall of thefilm gate 40, to permit a predetermined amount of free movement ofthe-pad ii toward and away from the film F. The flanges of the walls libserve to limit the movement of the pad i toward the film. The press padIi is made to resiliently contact'the film F by means of a coil springI, one end of which-is adapted to press against the pad ii, and theother end thereof is held by a cover member II. To prevent disalignmentof the spring I, the cover member 6 may be provided with a pressed outbulging portion II designed to hold the end of the spring 8' properlycentered. It is seen from the above described construction that we haveprovided improved means for applying constant pressure against the filmas it passes. the film aperture 32, and that when the film tooth 25arides upwardly on the back of the film it will not cause displacement ofthe framing of the film with respect 'to the aperture 32.

Suitablemeans, such as apertures ll, are provided iii the walls ll and43 oi the unitary die castframefor attachingthe sametothecamera tion areachieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practicaluse.

' As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccom- P 3 8 drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having thus described our'invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent:

1. In a motion picture camera of the character described, intermittentfilm advancing means comprising a reciprocating shuttle, means forcausing said shuttle to reciprocate, a reciprocating shutter, means forcausing said shutter to reciprocate, a film gate, lens mounting means,and a one piece support for said film advancing means, said shuttleoperating means, said shutter, said shutter operating means, said filmgate and said lens mounting means, said support being designed so as tobe removably mounted within said camera.

,2. In a motion picture camera of the character described, intermittentfilm advancing means comprising a reciprocating shuttle, means forcausing said shuttle to reciprocate, a reciprocating shutter, means forcausing said shutter to reciprocate, a film gate, lens mounting means,and a one piece die cast support for said film advancing means, saidshuttle operating means, said shutter, said shutter operating means,said film gate and said lens mounting means, said support comprising apair of integral walls at right angles to each other, one of said wallsbeing provided with apertures designed for use in removably mountingsaid support within said camera.

3. In a motion picture camera of the character described, thecombination of an integral support comprising a first wall and a secondwall at right angles to said first wall, a shaft rotatably mounted insaid second wall, a first cam fixed to said shai't for rotationtherewith, a second cam spaced fromsaid first cam and fixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said cams being rotatable in planesparallel to each other and to said second wall,a reciprocating shuttershuttle actuated directly by said first cam, a reciprocating film dogshuttle actuated directly by said second cam, means for causing saidshuttles to move in a straight line, said last named means comprisingprojecting pins fixed to said second wall on opposite sides of saidshaft and passing through slotted apertures in said shuttles, an openingin said first wall, a film aperture in said first wall spaced from saidopening, a spring urged rotatably mounted film dog fixed to said filmdog shuttle and having a portion thereof received in said opening forintermittently advancing a film, and a shutter mounted on said shuttershuttle for movement therewith to intermittently cover and uncover saidfilm aperture.

4. In a motion picture camera of the character described, thecombination of an integral support comprisingafirst wallandasecondwallatright angles to said first wall, a shaft rotatablymoimted insaidseoondwalLafirstcamfixedtosa-idshai't for rotationtherewith, a second cam spaced from'saidfirstea'mandfixedtosaidshaitforrotation therewith, said cams beingrotatable in planes paralleltoeachotherandtosaidsecondwalLareciprocating shutter shuttle actuated directly bysaidfirstcam,areciprocatingfihndogshuttle actuated directly by saidsecond cam, ach at said shuttles having slotted apertures, the slottedapertures of one shuttle being in axial alignment with the slottedapertures of the other of said shuttles, means for causing said shuttlesto move in a straight line, said last named means comprising projectingpins threadedly fixed to said second wall on opposite sides of saidshaft and passing through said slotted apertures in said shuttles, anopening in said first wall, a film aperture in said first wall spacedfrom said opening, a spring urged rotatably mounted film dog fixed tosaid film dog shuttle and having a portion thereof received in saidopening for intermittently advancing a film, and a shutter mounted onsaid shutter shuttle for movement therewith to intermittently cover anduncover said film aperture.

5. In a motion picture camera of the character described, thecombination of an integral support comprising a first wall and a secondwall at right angles to said first wall, a shaft rotatably mounted insaid second wall, a first cam fixed to said shaft for rotationtherewith, a second cam spaced from said first cam and fixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said cams being rotatable in planesparallel to each other and to said second wall, a reciprocating shuttershuttle actuated directly by said first cam, a reciprocating film dogshuttle actuated directly by said second cam, means for causing saidshuttles to move in a straight line,

- said last named means comprising projecting pins fixed to said secondwall on opposite sides of said shaft and passing through slottedapertures in said shuttles, an opening in said first wall, a filmaperture in said first wall spaced from said opening, a spring urgedrotatably mounted film dog fixed to said film dog shuttle and having apor-- tion thereof received in said opening for intermittently advancinga film, a shutter mounted on said shutter shuttle for movement therewithto intermittently cover and uncover said film aperture, and meanscomprising spacer collars 'surrounding said pins and interposed betweensaid shuttles to prevent displacement of said shuttles with respect tosaid cams.

6. In a motion picture camera of the character described, thecombination of an integral support comprising a first wall and a secondwall at right angles to said first wall, a shaft rotatably mounted insaid second wall, a first cam fixed to said shaft w for rotationtherewith, a second cam spaced from said first cam and fixed to-saidshaft for rotation therewith, said cams being rotatable in planesparallel to each other and to said second wall, a reciprocating shuttershuttle actuated directly by 55 said first cam, a reciprocating film dogshuttle actuated directly by said second cam, means for causing saidshuttles to move in a straight line, said last named means comprisingprojecting pins fixed to said second wall on opposite sides of saidshaftand passing through slotted apertures in therefrom so as tointermittently cover and uncover said film aperture.

'7. In a motion picture camera of the character described, thecombination of an integral support comprising a first wall and a secondwall at right 75'- for rotation therewith, a second cam spaced fromangles to said first wall, a shaft rotatably mounted in said secondwall, a first cam fixed to said shaft said first cam and fixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said cams being rotatable in planesparallel to each other and to said second wall, a reciprocating shuttershuttle actuated directly by said first cam, a reciprocating film dogshuttle actuated directly by said second cam, means for causing saidshuttles to move in a straight line, said last named means comprisingprojecting pins fixed to said second wall on opposite sides of saidshaft and passing through slotted apertures in said shuttles, an openingin said first wall, a film aperture in said first wall spaced from saidopening, a spring urged rotatably mounted film dog fixed to said filmdog shuttle and having a portion thereof received in said opening forintermittently advancing a film, said last named extending portion beingdisposed in a plane parallel to and closely adjacent said first wall.

8. In a motion picture camera of the character described, thecombination of an integral support comprising a first wall and a secondwallat right angles to said first wall, a shaft rotatably mounted insaid second wall, a first cam fixed to said shaft for rotationtherewith, a second cam spaced from said first cam and fixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said cams being rotatable in planesparallel to each other and to said second wall, a reciprocating shuttershuttle actuated directly by said first cam, a reciprocating film dogshuttle actuated directly by said second cam, means for causing saidshuttles to move in a straight line, said last named means comprisingprojecting pins fixed to said second wall on opposite sides of saidshaft and passing through slotted apertures in said shuttles, an openingin said first wall, a film aperture in said first wall spaced from saidopening; a spring urged rotatably mounted film dog fixed to said filmdog shuttle and having a portion thereof received in said opening forintermittently advancing a film, a shutter mounted on said shuttershuttle for movement therewith to intermittently cover and uncover saidfilm'aperture, and apertured flange portions on one of said walls forremovably mounting said support in said camera.

9. In a motion picture camera of the character described, thecombination of an integral support comprising a first wall and a secondwall at right angles to said first wall, a shaft rotatably mqunted insaid second wall, a first cam fixed to said shaft for rotationtherewith, a second cam spaced from said first cam and fixed to saidshaft for rotation therewith, said cams being rotatable in planesparallel to each other and to said second wall, a reciprocating shuttershuttle actuated directly by said first cam, a reciprocating film dogshuttle actuated directlty by said second cam, means for causing saidshuttles to move in a straight line, said last named means comprisingprojecting pins fixed to said second wall on opposite sides of saidshaft and passing through slotted apertures in

